The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-01-20

dust, to John Trevor, and had given him
piercing look Of such deadly and revergeful
hatred, Shat II ought TO have sobered him
instantly, and perhaps. did; for he walked
into the house without delivering the TRADE
Of abuse the servants were awaiting rs their
share Of his attentions. That night he was
awakened by the sound Of Q violent blow
upon the wall, close by his head. Attempt
ing to rise up, his face came immediately in
contact with long, slender shaft, driven
firmly into the wall, which, by the feathered
end, he knew to be an Indian arrow. Nov
ing to one side, 90 as to clear the obstruc-
ton, and raising himself cautiously, he saw
at the open window q human head that re-
called to his mind the Indian he had 90
brutally treated only few hours before
and looked upon himself rs doomed.
John Trevor was by no means coward,
but here he was completely powerless. For
nearly an hour-that was longer to him
than ever year was before-he lay motion
less, knowing that was his only chance for
escape, and expecting every moment to
hear again that horrible crash. The tor
lures Of suspense became more than he
could longer endure, and he raised his head
once more. The figure at the window had
disappeared. Creeping silently to the win
dow, and peering out cautiously, he sew
nothing unusual. Shrewdly guessing that
the would-be assassin had thought his
work complete, and would make ell haste to
leave that vicinity, Trevor concluded that
the best course would be to humor that idea
by keeping silent for the present, and al
lowing the Indian to make good his escape,
confident that he would never return to the
place again.
The hours dragged on, and John Trevor
finally fell into troubled slumber, from
which he was awakened the next morning
by an unusual tumult outside. He was not
long in learning the cause Of the
disturbance. His youngest child, Q
little boy Of four years Of age, was
missing, and no trace Of the
child could be found. The boy was his
only son, and Of oil his children his best be-
loved; and John Trevor did love the child
as he loved no other human being. Exam
ination showed about the place numerous
tracks Of q moccasined foot, rs il its owner
had, contrary to the usual Indian practice,
taken little pains to conceal their traces.
There was no doubt in John Trevor's mind
that the same hand that had attempted his
life had stolen his boy.
Hastily summOning some Of his neighbors,
among whom was an old hunter skilled in
all the arts of wood-craft, without difficulty
they traced the footsteps Of the savage to
the camping ground, but the band had dis
appeared. With some trouble they found
the direction of the trail taken by the In
dians, and then Trevor and his hunter COM
panion made thorough preparation for the
long chase that lay before them ere they
could hope to overtake the fugitives Hav-
ing taken leave of their neghbors, the two
men set out on their journey. Day after
day they pushed on, through streams and
forests, the trail they were following lead
ing away from the settlements, until at
last they reached the Connecticut river.
They had little difficulty in finding where the
Indians had started to cross the river; but
their landing had been made with such
skill, that after three days spent in fruit
less search, the hunter was obliged to ad-
NIT that he had lost tho trail entirely, and
that, in all probability, they would never
recover it. The pursuit was now q hopeless
one, and accordingly the hunter turned
homeward, Trevor, who refused to go back
to continue the chase alone.
For two days Trevor kept on his random
course, knowing nothing about it than that
1t led toward the west, until the end Of the
second day, when, just as night was coming
on, he threw himself, utterly wearied and
disheartened, upon the ground to rest Al
most instantly appeared, standing before
him, regarding him with a stern and pitiless
look, the Indian he had been so long pursu-
ing. Again Trevor found himself complete
ly in the power Of his implaoable enemy,
and saw plainly that one movement on his
part and his fate was sealed. The Indian
was the first to speak.
"White man." he said, in q strange mix
ture Of broken English and the Narragansett
dialect, ''White man, might have slain you
as you lay upon your bed, had wished to
do so. Many times I might have slain you
on your journey hither. can slay you now
and hang your scalp in my belt. If two
suns more find not the Great river rolling
between you and me, the wolves and cata-
mounts shall feast upon your CORY corpse.
Your son you will never see again. His
children may some time visit the birthplace
of their father, but him you have seen for
the last time" With these words he sprang
into the thicket, and Trevor never saw or
heard aught Of him afterward.
Convinced that what he had heard was no
idle threat, and that any further attempt to
find his boy would only cost him his life,
Trevor returned to his home again. Tho
loss of his child preyed upon his mind, and
he became SO mOrose and savage in his
bearing that, finally, he was deserted by all
except two Of his servants, whose patience
was proof against his unreasonable humors.
One more attempt he made to find his child !;
but there seems to have been little known
about this last expedition, more than that
after several weeks absence he returned
from q bootless errand. His subsequent
conduct indicates that his mind had become
affected and, one morning shortly after
these events, he was found hanging by the
neck to beam in the garret.
After John Trevor's death, the estate
passed into the hands Of others Of the same
name The Trevor House, in the days of
the Revolution, was the scene Of more than
one tragedy, and gradually came to be
looked upon by the more superstitious
Of the neighborhoOd, as has been said, as a
place to be avoided; and, in course Of time,
efforts to keep the place in repair ceased to
be made, and it gradually fell into ruins.
Such was the condition Of affairs with the
old house until one morning, about ten
years ago, II was discovered that It had q
tenant once more. Smoke in small, thin
cloud, as if the supply Of fuel below was
meager, rose feebly every day from the
ancient chimney; and the form Of q man
was seen occasionally about the premises
though no one succeeded in getting q near
view Of his face. How he lived, where he
obtained food, no one could tell; for II he
left the house at all, it must have been at
night, when every one else was at rest.
No attempt was made to find out any thing
| more regarding the inmate Of the old house
| as it was generally supposed that he was {
| tramp and tramps were held in wholesome
awe in Winston. But one evening, about q
fortnight after the strangers first appear